The Covid hospital bill

What is in the best interest of our patients? We've been AVOIDING invasive ventilation, dammit! And you think we've been unduly putting patient through it because Medicare pays more (I dispute the three times more information. Medicare, through the CARES act, allocated a surplus of 20% to help hospitals with the care of uninsured Covid-19 patients; other billing does relate to procedures, not to diagnoses)??

Again, you seem to have a weird notion of how hospitals operate. So you think that some corporate head calls up a meeting with the medical staff, and says, "hey guys, we need to put all those people with moderate Covid-19 under invasive ventilators so that we make more money! Giddy up!"

Next, several doctors would report the person to the State Medical Board, to the Department of Labor, to the DoJ, and to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Did you know that the Medical Staff even when salaried by a hospital, is an independent body with its own governance, with a President, an Executive Committee, and bylaws?

Did you know that if a patient dies, there is an internal audit to make sure the care was correctly delivered, and there are sanctions if the care was deliberately sub-standard?

Alerted by the President of the Medical Staff, the hospital's Risk Department would talk to the CEO and say "fire this guy, he is exercising undue pressure on the medical staff to proceed with unwarranted and dangerous practices, exposing us to liability and loss of CMS accreditation, because this is fraud."

Performing unnecessary procedures (without medical necessity) in order to increase Medicare billing is fraud and a federal felony. People can go to jail, lose CMS accreditation and be banned from earning it back for life, and can even lose their license to practice medicine.

NOBODY would do that.

Again, you are making PREPOSTEROUS assumptions because you don't know anything about how the medical profession operates.

 

It's a religion. No amount of logic or rational arguments, or god forbid, facts, make any difference.

I can no longer stomach this place. It is a crackpot factory and is contributing to killing people. It only serves to normalize insanity. At least half the people posting here should be banned as nuts and liars. And frankly I don't think the staff gives a damn.

I wish you the best. I hope you and your family stay safe until we are out of this. At least the end is in sight.